Anyone who serves as Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s crew chief would be on this list every year. That’s just the world of Earnhardt, where the depth of his fan base means constant scrutiny.

And with this being Letarte’s final season before he heads to NBC, it becomes even more pressure-packed for he and Earnhardt Jr. Letarte needs to build on a season in which Earnhardt finished fifth in the standings.

Childers moved from Michael Waltrip Racing to Stewart-Haas Racing to be the crew chief for Kevin Harvick. The fiery Harvick once got rid of his crew chief after back-to-back third-place finishes in the standings.

That’s pressure in and of itself, let alone the expectation that Harvick should challenge for the Cup title in his first season with SHR.

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Chad Johnston

Talking about drivers who are demanding, Tony Stewart has released his crew chief in two of the last three seasons. Even winning the 2011 championship wasn’t good enough for Darian Grubb to keep his job, and Steve Addington (left) was released after last season.

Not only that, but Johnston will work with a driver who is still recovering from a broken leg that caused him to miss 15 races last season.

Racing Dale Earnhardt’s famous No. 3 certainly brings pressure for Richard Childress Racing’s Austin Dillon. Being the crew chief for the No. 3 brings pressure, too, and that is what Martin has on his shoulders.

He also has the added challenge of guiding a rookie driver. Oh, and Dillon also is the grandson of the boss.

Denny Hamlin had a disappointing season last year. It wasn’t just that he missed four races because of an injured back, it was that he managed only one win and eight top-10 finishes in the 32 races that he started.

Those are subpar numbers for both Hamlin and Grubb, and if they don’t improve, it is hard to see them continuing to work together.

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Tony Gibson

Gibson is in charge of getting Danica Patrick to finish better than 27th in the standings in 2014. That shouldn’t be too hard — she should be better.

But this is the year that could determine whether Patrick has a long-term future in the sport, and much of that rests on Gibson’s shoulders.

The other three Stewart-Haas Racing crew chiefs are on this list, so how about the fourth? Knost is an engineer who now has the job of handling Kurt Busch, one of the sport’s most knowledgeable and experienced drivers but one who isn’t afraid to dress down his crew chief and crew.

With a brand-new team and a volatile driver, the rookie crew chief could have his hands full.

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Jimmy Fennig

The wily veteran of the garage, Fennig needs to have a more consistent season than he had with Carl Edwards in 2013. This is a team that actually recorded the most points in the regular season, only to finish 13th at the end of the Chase.

By all accounts, the talented Edwards and the veteran Fennig, who has won a championship and a Daytona 500, should be better than they were in 2013.

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Brian Pattie

After such a good first season for Pattie and Clint Bowyer at Michael Waltrip Racing, where they finished second in the Cup standings, the second season seemed to be a half-step behind 2012 as Bowyer went winless and finished seventh overall in 2013.

After the controversy that wrecked the organization in 2013, this is a team in need of a boost, and most are looking at Bowyer and Pattie to provide it.

Kelley won back-to-back Nationwide Series titles with Ricky Stenhouse Jr. in 2011 and 2012. Stenhouse had a solid rookie season (19th) in 2013, while Kelley continued to work in Nationwide with Trevor Bayne.

They’ve been reunited in Cup, and Kelley won’t have much time to learn Cup strategies as the organization needs Stenhouse to be a top-15 driver in 2014.

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Todd Berrier

The Furniture Row team reached a new level, becoming the first single-car operation to make the Chase as Kurt Busch led the team to the postseason in 2013. Now Martin Truex Jr. will be behind the wheel, and it’s up to Berrier to show that the team and the car played a significant role in that accomplishment.